MLL at the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships

The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships were held last weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and MLL players participated in the festivities surrounding the event.

On Saturday, during the first Division I semifinal between Loyola and Notre Dame, Scott Rodgers of the Hamilton Nationals and P.T. Ricci of the Boston Cannons were interviewed on the field by Evan Washburn, host of “Inside the MLL," the league's 30-minute magazine show that airs each week on CBS Sports Network. Rodgers, a Notre Dame graduate and two-time All-American, was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Championship for his performance between the pipes in the Irish’s run to the title game. Ricci played at Loyola from 2007-2009, and finished his distinguished career by claiming Honorable Mention All-America honors and the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year Award in his senior season. The two pros sparked up a friendly rivalry as their former teams battled on the field. Ricci got the last laugh as the Greyhounds took the game, and eventually the title.

Rodgers and Ricci weren’t the only players on hand to watch their former teams. Salisbury graduate Kyle Hartzell of the Ohio Machine saw his alma mater top Cortland State in a very entertaining game between Division Three’s two most dominant programs. Cannons player Tom Burke, a Cortland product, was also interviewed by Washburn on the field during the DIII Championship game along with Chesapeake Bayhawks attackman Drew Westervelt.

Many of the league’s stars turned out to meet fans, sign autographs, answer questions, and even run free clinics for young players on a demo field in the LaXperience Fan Fest. Fans interacted with JJ Morrissey (Virginia), Jake Beebe (Springfield), Kevin Gould (Bentley), Eric Hagarty (Endicott), Ricci and Tom Burke of the MLL Champion Boston Cannons. They also had an opportunity to meet Joel White (Syracuse), Martin Cahill (Delaware) and Tim Fallon (Hartford) of the Rochester Rattlers, Rodgers of the Hamilton Nationals, Hartzell of the Ohio Machine, Westervelt (UMBC) of the Chesapeake Bayhawks, and Ricky Pages (Ohio State), Jovan Miller (Syracuse) and Joe Marra (Fairfield) of the Charlotte Hounds.

For more information about the event please visit www.ncaa.com/lacrosse. The 2013 Men’s Lacrosse Championships will be held May 25-27 in Philadelphia, PA at Lincoln Financial Field.